[No title provided]
"You've seen a company that doesn't provide computers?"
"...Hee hee."
"Lee Seo-yeon, aren't you liking this a bit too much...?"
"...I-It's not like I like it that much."
Lee Seo-yeon, who was one of the more mature ones among our quartet, was grinning like an idiot because the tarot reading had come out positive.
Tarot readings drew a lot of solo visitors, so Yuna unnie had smoothly set her tray aside and laid out the cards with practiced ease. The result? "As long as you don't rush, you'll definitely connect with a wonderful partner." And that partner was described as someone mature yet pure-hearted.
...That was totally Kim Do-yoon hyung and Lee Seo-yeon.
We all already knew Do-yoon hyung's feelings, so we could only exchange glances. It was basically a done deal that those two would end up together—it was just a matter of time.
"...But does this stuff really work?"
"Hm? What?"
"I mean... all the results have been hitting way too close to home so far..."
If they were reading us that well, did that mean even the compatibility part from earlier was spot-on, straight from her mouth?
Of course, I wasn't about to poke the bear.
"Tarot is about getting answers from the cards. Unlike people, cards don't lie."
Yuna unnie breezed past Yoo Seol-ah's skeptical head-tilt with innocent ease, but who knew if she was serious. At this point, it almost made you wonder if there was something to tarot after all—but nah, we were the ones drawing the cards, not her. She wasn't mind-controlling us or anything.
This must be what they mean by getting fleeced with your eyes wide open.
"...Thanks anyway. It kinda puts my mind at ease."
"Glad to hear it. That's exactly the right amount for tarot."
"...Unnie, you seem so grown-up. Now I wanna see you in office attire."
"...Uh, yeah?"
From maturity straight to office looks—Yuna unnie's topic pivot caught her off guard, but we'd seen enough of Lee Seo-yeon to roll with it.
"...I never wore stuff like that even when I worked at the company. No dress code anyway."
True, these days big corporations were ditching dress codes altogether. And while it might just be for show, a lot weren't even using titles anymore.
"Aw, that's a shame. You'd rock office wear perfectly..."
Then Lee Seo-yeon gave Yuna unnie a sly once-over with mischievous eyes. Yuna unnie shrank back a little, flustered.
Yeah, I got what she meant.
Yoo Seol-ah suddenly tapped my thigh, so I turned to her.
"...Where you looking?"
"You'd look good in office wear too."
"What the hell are you even saying...!"
Yoo Seol-ah flushed beet red and clammed up. She'd whispered, but the other two were snickering, so they'd heard everything.
It was a non sequitur, but probably the right answer. Felt like a hint of jealousy there—she'd cut off the source at the root. And sure enough, Yoo Seol-ah didn't push further. Classic.
Of course, I was curious about her in office wear too. She'd look stunning; I'd love to beg her for it once.
But separately, Yuna unnie was the first image that popped into my head for office looks. Her calm vibe, average height—it matched the most common archetype in all those office illustrations.
"Unnie, wear office wear for us sometime?"
"...You mean the white blouse and H-line mini skirt, right? I don't even have a skirt... Plus, you'd need curves like you girls to pull it off..."
"No way, unnie. You're the office look blueprint."
Lee Seo-yeon was the type who wanted to dress up every woman around her—like when she'd tried turning Yoo Seol-ah into a maid.
"I'll prep the skirt. Come over to my place."
"...If you call, I'll come. Where do you live, Seo-yeon?"
"Fine Life Apartments. Not too far from here."
"...Huh?"
Oh, straight-up salarywoman instincts? We'd looked it up, but Yuna unnie's eyes widened just from the name.
"...Fine Life 001?"
"Yeah."
"The place everyone at my company said you could never afford on our salary..."
"Isn't your company's starting pay top-tier?"
"True, but they were like, 'Get fired before forty and you won't save 800 million—hell, not even 200 million'..."
Not even 200 million? That implied she could've easily saved 1 billion on salary alone.
Unlike Yuna unnie, Yoo Seol-ah and I couldn't hide our shock.
"People living there don't even need to join our company... Wait, are you some chairman's daughter or...?"
...Spot on.
We stayed quiet until she spilled it herself. Lee Seo-yeon went silent too, and Yuna unnie held out her palm like a pause button.
"...Hold up. Let me brace myself."
Hand on her chest, deep breath—then she turned back, trembling slightly.
"...Okay, ready."
"My parents just run a food company."
Lee Seo-yeon wasn't lying, but after getting burned by Yoo Seol-ah before, Yuna unnie wasn't buying it easily.
"Parents? Not a huge age gap then? Only one place comes to mind..."
"...Yeah, probably that one."
"...Ahahaha..."
Yuna unnie let out a hollow laugh. Second time around, the shock seemed milder.
"Invite me over sometime. Visiting there's been a dream. You can't just wander into Fine Life complexes."
"Sure, come hang out. We've actually had a sleepover there already—the four of us—but it's been a bit, so we could all go again."
"I wanna go back too. The open-air bath was amazing."
"...They have an open-air bath? ...No, I gotta make this cafe blow up."
Yuna unnie laughed it off, but with the cafe packed to the second floor even as dusk fell, it didn't sound far-fetched at all.
"Unnie, you wrote novels too?"
"Yeah, back when I was working."
"Whoa, can I read them?"
"...E-books exist, so sure?"
...E-books? So it wasn't just hobby scribbles.
"...Mind if I ask your pen name?"
"Search 'OffToWorkTomorrow' and it should pop up..."
We weren't big on Korean novels, so we all pulled out our phones and searched. Sure enough, she had a dedicated wiki page.
"...A romance fantasy star who burst onto the scene like a comet. Little is known except she's a corporate worker who vowed to quit once she earned five years' salary from writing..."
Her debut and hit, Dagger to the Heart. Labeled romance fantasy, but reviews praised its top-tier battle scenes over the lighter romance compared to other romfics.
Reportedly the romfan with the most male readers ever.
"...Did you hit that goal?"
She wasn't working now, after all. I'd wondered since reading that line, and Yoo Seol-ah beat me to it.
Yuna unnie nodded shyly.
"...Yeah, pretty much."
"......"
Three years at the company. Earning five years' pay meant... Now it clicked how a late-twenties Yuna unnie afforded this huge cafe without family help. Property taxes here would've been brutal on three years' salary alone.
"...Can I join the club?"
"Obviously. I wasn't even that into romfan anyway. Haven't written anything else."
"...Huh?"
"Romfan was purely for the money. I wrote it for real to hit that five-year goal. What I wanted was straight fantasy. But pure fantasy wasn't selling back then..."
Explained the rave battle scenes. But hitting it big in a genre you didn't love? Our club was full of wildcards.
"Seriously, is Astasia short on talent? What kinda criteria picks all these people...?"
Yoo Seol-ah's words drew a sly smile from Yuna unnie.
"They probably scout for types like this. Seol-ah, your art's insanely good—feels just like casting magic, right?"
"...Yeah, kinda."
I figured my heightened senses, including hearing, played a role too. Yuna unnie seemed confident no one here could match her Astasia knowledge.
"What I know for sure is our five are the end of it. But they all probably have talents like ours."
Lee Seo-yeon had shocked us at first, but she'd been tending plants her whole life. Do-yoon hyung's leadership and design skills were innate too.
"...So you'll be our story writer?"
"Yeah. I'm free a lot. And it's Astasia-based?"
"Right. Though we'll tweak it..."
"Open-book style then—easier. I've heard tons of stories anyway."
Then Yuna unnie sighed deeply.
"...And honestly, you worked us for free. Even otherworlders, no, isekai laborers deserve pay... Gotta milk this somehow. Ahem. Makes business sense."
Her fired-up tone, the emphasis on "unpaid"—you could feel the corporate grind.
Yoo Seol-ah chimed in cautiously.
"...Our magic stuff doesn't count as unpaid labor, right?"
"Duh. Ever seen a company that doesn't provide computers? Quit on the spot."
Talk of work, and Yuna unnie's words sped up, voice crystal clear.